We've Reached the Peak of New Bills

This week, we reached the peak of new policy bills being heard in committees. The first significant cut-off of this year’s legislative session is next Wednesday, January 31 when bills must be passed out of committee. Those with fiscal implications must pass out of House Appropriations or Senate Ways and Means by February 5. The next step after that is for bills to be passed off the floor of the House or the Senate and the deadline for that is February 13. After that, the bills move to the other side and the process repeats.

We signed in “pro” this week for bills related to dual language and teacher residency programs, modifying requirements for instructional materials and supplemental instructional materials committees, social emotional learning, and supporting a statewide network of mental and behavioral health support for students through the ESDs. 

A BIG thank you to Jake Tyrrell, Principal at Steilacoom High School, and Mark Beddes, Principal at Surprise Lake Middle in Fife, for testifying in the Senate about the critical need for our state to support students with their mental and behavioral health.

We also weighed in “pro” for bills in other committees besides K-12 education, such as programs that would support students headed to post-secondary programs and improving school safety at school and athletic events.

We weighed in as “other” for HB 1922 which would provide grant funding for vape detectors and said that while these devices can help improve the school culture of using restrooms, we would rather see resources go to prevention and cessation support for students. We also said “other” for HB 2018 that would require districts to adopt a policy to restrict the use of mobile devices. 

Another issue that we continue to weigh in on is restraint and isolation. The House and Senate bills for this topic are slightly different and in general, the education community prefers the Senate version as it has fewer changes to the reporting process and more flexible definitions. The Senate bill (SB 5966) has not yet been scheduled for executive session, but the House version (HB 1479 ) has been scheduled for executive action next week. I haven’t seen any specific amendments yet but will be watching to see what happens.

Many thanks to our High School Grade Level Leadership Committee for their robust discussion of SB 5670 which would allow 10th graders to take one online course in Running Start. We provided feedback to Senator Brad Hawkins that we were a bit mixed about this and that our primary concerns were academic readiness and support and logistics. We would like to see a deeper dive into the data around Running Start success rates as well as additional funding gaps addressed. OSPI and WEA are weighing in as well and it sounds like the bill will be modified to codify the 10 credits of summer Running Start courses that rising juniors can take as well as add some additional notification requirements for 9th and 10th graders.

We are also still working on SB 5085. This bill would update 28A.405.245 related to employment provisions. Our goal is to add assistant principals and require that specific evaluation criteria be used if principals or assistant principals are being moved to a subordinate position. We also want to ensure that all years of experience in education count, no matter the role (teacher or administrator). We do not see this RCW connected to moving staff to subordinate positions due to enrollment or funding declines, which, unfortunately still may have to occur in districts.

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Budget

Supplemental Operating Budget discussions are ramping up and it sounds like more attention is being paid to increasing funding for MSOC (Materials Supplies and Operating Costs). Districts are sharing data to show how utility and insurance costs in particular have risen dramatically and state funding has not kept up. Some legislators are focused on funding transportation costs and of course the conversation about paraeducator pay and updating the prototypical model for paraeducators continues. The state will not pay for all of these things, however, as the total amount is well outside the “box” of money that they will allocate for K-12 Education. We are hearing that there will be good news for school construction projects in the Capital Budget.

We continue to ask legislators to include two specific budget asks that our partners at OSPI included as a decision package request to Governor Inslee. The Governor did not include these requests in his budget, so we are asking legislators to include them in the final supplemental budget.

Our first request is an enhancement to our state’s principal internship program. Currently, funding is available to cover only 8-10 substitute days for interns receiving this grant. This is not sufficient preparation. We are asking for an additional one million dollars so grant recipients can have at least 25-30 days covered. 

The second item is for $860,000, which allows OSPI to partner with us and provides more secure funding and support for associate director positions. These positions support principal professional learning, respond to member support calls, and provide coaching. They also support ongoing work related to instruction, evaluation, behavior, mental health, and more.

As a member of the School Funding Coalition, we continue to work alongside other statewide associations, like WASA and WSSDA, to urge legislators to update the prototypical funding model for principals and other staff. We thank Representative Alicia Rule for sponsoring HB 2212, which would update the ratio for building administrators, and we are now working to get the bill a hearing in House Appropriations.

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Bills this Week

Here are the bills that were heard in the House and Senate Education Committees this week. I also have been tracking a few bills in the Higher Education and Healthcare Committees.

House Education

Monday

• HB 1228 | Building a multilingual, multiliterate Washington through dual and tribal language education. 
• HB 1239 | Establishing a simple and uniform system for complaints related to, and instituting a code of educator ethics for conduct within or involving public elementary and secondary schools. 
• E2SHB 1565 | Supporting and strengthening the professional education workforce. 
• HB 2335 | Concerning state-tribal education compacts.
• HB 2381 | Increasing eligibility for economy and efficiency flexible school calendar waivers. 

Tuesday

• HB 2331 | Modifying requirements for public school instructional and supplemental instructional materials. 
• HB 2398 | Requiring parent representation on instructional materials committees. 
• HB 2037 | Concerning Holocaust and genocide education in public schools. 
• HB 2018 | Improving student outcomes by restricting mobile device use by public school students. 
• HB 1922 | Establishing a grant program for the purchase and installation of vape detectors in public schools.

Thursday

• HB 2130 | Extending special education services. 
• HB 2239 | Supporting student well-being through instruction in social-emotional skills. 

Senate Education

Monday

• SB 5969 | Adjusting school districts' authority to contract indebtedness for school construction. 
• SB 5978 | Authorizing the office of the superintendent of public instruction to act as a guarantor for a county when the county provides a loan to a school district.
• SB 5903 | Concerning representation in the educator preparation act. 
• SB 6012 | Helping approved teacher preparation programs respond to the continuously changing needs of the modern classroom.
• SB 5966 | Concerning restraint or isolation of students in public schools and educational programs.

Wednesday

• SB 6082 | Increasing compensation for Washington paraeducators.
• SB 6123 | Adjusting classified school employee salaries.
• SB 6208 | Modifying requirements for public school instructional and supplemental instructional materials.
• SB 6216 | Establishing a statewide network for student mental and behavioral health.
• SB 6236 | Filing a declaration of intent to provide home-based instruction.

Thursday

• SB 6031 | Modifying the student transportation allocation to accommodate multiple vehicle types for transporting students.
• SB 6205 | Mandating instruction on the meaning and history of the pledge of allegiance in public schools. 
• SB 6045 | Concerning school district efficiencies and consolidation.
• SB 6264 | Supporting the implementation of competency-based education.

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Next Week’s Bills

There will only be two new bills heard next week in the Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee in the Senate. The House Education Committee will only hold executive sessions as legislators work to meet the deadline of passing bills out by January 31.

House Education

Monday

• SB 6223 | Updating school district director compensation.
• SB 5964 | Increasing student access to free meals served at public schools.

Below are additional links to find out more about these bills and to contact your own legislators. Legislators care very much about hearing directly from their constituents. When we weigh in as an association, it is helpful and important, but having many of you reach out directly with a short email to legislators can be much more powerful. Find your legislator and email them here if you have any thoughts to share. 

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Important Links:

• Washington State Legislature
• Bill Search
• Find Your Legislators
• Email Your Legislators

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Other Advocacy Efforts

Day on the Hill

Many of our Advocacy Advisory Council and AWSP Board Members are planning a visit to Olympia on February 5 for our annual “Day on the Hill”. They will be meeting with their own legislators and perhaps attending some committee hearings. You can get involved by scheduling a virtual meeting with your own legislators that week. See the links shared above to find your district legislators and their email addresses. 

Here is my complete bill tracking list for this week.

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Get Involved

Many thanks for all that you do for students and staff. Please reach out if you have questions or comments. Thank you!